Electric lighting fixtures



P 1960 E. D. TILLSON EIAL 2,951,611

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1956 vINVENTORS: EDWIN D. T/LLSON W/LL/AM F JAN/V555 DONALD 14 DAV/5 BY ATT'YP 1960 E. D. TILLSON ETAL 2,951,611

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 23, 1956 WILL/AMF. JANNESS DONALD W DAV/5 EDWIN D. T/LLSD/V ATT'Y United States PatentELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURES Edwin D. Tiilson, Evanston, and William E.Janness and Donald W. Davis, Highland Park, 111., assignors t0 LightingProducts, linc., Highland Park, ill, a corporation of Illinois FiledApr. 23, 1956, Ser. No. 580,059

11 Claims. (Cl. 220-34) This invention relates in general to an electriclighting fixture and is more particularly described as an improved hingeand support for a closure of a wall or a ceiling fixture of the recessor surface type for straight tubular lamps.

In other fixtures of this type, elaborate suspension and mounting meansare provided which require removal of the cover or closure, involvefastening connections for securing the cover in place and removing itfrom the fixture casing; and complicated arrangements require the use oftools in applying and removing the cover.

The present invention overcomes all of these objections by providing asimple hinging structure and a cover which may be easily inserted withinthe casing and removed therefrom while still maintaining its hingingattachment.

An important object of the invention is to provide a hinged coverconstruction for a lighting fixture in which the hinge has a pivoted andsliding movement.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved stop andlimiting movement construction for a cover which is both slidably andpivotally mounted in a casing.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a hingingstructure in which the cover may be slidably and pivotally mounted inthe casing and also bodily removed with the hinging means if desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide resilient means foryieldingly pressing a pivoted and sliding cover into closed position.

Further objects are to provide a thin light casing adapted to be mounteddirectly against the ceiling or inserted in a plaster supporting frame;to provide a cover or closure recessed at the inner side to receive aportion of a transformer containing box therein; to provide a decorativeornament at the outside of a closure to conceal a transformer casing inthe lighting casing to recess the upper plate of the casing so that theedges will fit tightly against a wall or ceiling to which it is applied;and in general to produce the structure herein shown and described.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and willbe apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the thin casing lighting fixture inaccordance with this invention in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the casing shown in Fig. 1 with theclosure in open position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the casing showing one of thehinge connections in closing position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the hinge shown in Fig. 3 with the hingeand closure in open position.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a trough type of fixture to which themounting hinge is applied; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the strucice ture of Fig. 6with parts broken away and showing the hinge and stop construction.

In electric lighting fixtures having long tubular lamps, it is desirableto provide a cover or closure which is easily moved into closed positionand readily moved from this position to a full open position which makesthe lamps accessible for their full length, but. at the same timesuspends the closure so that it is available when a lamp is cleaned orreplaced.

In the present construction, this is accomplished without special toolsand both hands of an operator are free for effecting the necessary lampremoval, cleaning or repair.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a relatively thin,light casing 10 is preferably formed of thin sheet metal and has a backplate 12 dished inwardly from its marginal edges 14 so that the casingmay be applied tightly to a wall or ceiling taking up any unevenprojections of the surface to which it is applied in the back plate. Atthe front or open side of the casing are opposite inwardly turned rims16 to receive a cover or closure 18 therein which comprises marginalframes 20 and a light distributing cellular frame or louver 22. Theclosure frame is of a width slightly greater than the distance betweenthe two inwardly turned marginal rims, and it is less in width than thefull width of the casing so that it is free to slide transversely in thecasing and upon the rims when it is inserted into the casing between therims.

At one side within the casing 10 is a suspending hinge structure for theclosure which comprises :a hinging link 24 preferably in the form of arectangular wire loop and having a bend 26 intermediate the ends.

One end is connected to one side of the marginal frame 20 for theclosure by means of one or more hinge straps 28, the ends of whichextend through the frame and are bent over to secure it in place. At theother end, each hinging link is secured to the inside of the back plate12 of the casing by a spring metal clip 30 secured to the casing by arivet 32 or other suitable means and the clip having an offset portion34 in which this end of the link '24 is slidable and rotatably movable.At the end of the offset is an angular contact end. 36 which has itsextremity turned outwardly away from the plate 12 so that this end ofthe hinge 24 may be pressed into engagement with the clip by engagingthe outer angular extremity 36 thereof or the hinge may be disengaged bypulling outwardly upon it and engaging the inner side of the angularcontact end.

Preferably formed integrally and as a continuation of the spring slip 30is a flat leaf spring 38 which extends from the back plate 12 adjacentthe edge of the casing with an extremity 40 which engages the edge ofthe marginal frame 20 of the closure and tends to press the closure tothe opposite side of the casing. At the opposite side of the casing is aprojection (or projections) 42 with the outer ends spaced from the edgeof the adjacent rim 16 so that the closure 18 may be freely supported atthe inside of the rims in contact with the projection 42 which limitsthe movement in that direction and against which the closure is pressedby the spring or springs 38. The spring thus moves the closure 18 to acenter position when it is inserted in the casing and prevents loosenessor rattling of the closure frame in the fixture casing when buildingvibration occurs.

To disengage the closure from the casing, it is necessary only to slidethe closure laterally against the spring 38 and then the opposite edgeclears the rim 16 to swing the closure downwardly upon the hinges 24 asshown in Fig. 4. In this pdsition, the entire inside of the casing isfreely accessible for inserting or replacing lamps or servicing the lamptransformer in a transformer casing 46. In this fixture, the transformercasing is centrally located and tubular lamps are mounted in the casingat each side of the transformer casing. A triangular reflector 48 isalso to be placed between the lamps 46 from each end of the transformercasing to the end of the lamp casing 10. p

In order to more compactly house the transformer casing withoutincreasing the thickness of the lighting casing 10, that portion of theclosure 18 which is opposite the transformer casing 46 may be formedwith a recess or opening 50 into which the transformer casing projectswhen the closure is within the casing. In order to conceal or hide thetransformer, an ornamental plate or cover 52 may be attached to theoutside of the casing which extends over the transformer casing so thatit is not visible or apparent when the closure is in place, and thecover 52 is provided with a suitable outer design which acts as anornament to the fixture.

This type of hinge suspension is also used with a lamp casing ofapproximately double width in which the closures are hinged at each sideof the lamp casing and are held by a ledge or projection from thetransformer casing at the center thereof.

This hinge construction is also adaptable to a trough type of lightingfixture as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the trough fixtures comprising acasing 54 which extends inwardly through an opening in a ceiling wall56, the casing is secured to the ceiling opening by a marginal frame 58secured in the ceiling opening and having bolts 60 extending downwardlyfrom the frame and through openings in the trough casing to which nuts62 are applied from the inside of the casing to hold the trough casingin place against the marginal frame 58. The trough casing has oppositeinwardly extending rims 64 with upwardly turned edges 66 upon which amarginal frame 68 of the fixture closure are slidably supported. Thisframe has a shade or reflector 70 of glass, plastic or other suitablematerial which is suitably engaged at its edges by the frame 68, andprojects outwardly and below the frame and also below the wall orceiling 56.

To suspend the closure frame 68 in the trough casing, hinging links 72are secured at one end to the upper side of the inner portion of themarginal frame by hinge straps 74 which engage around one hinging end ofthe link 72 and the other hinging end of the link is confined against anupwardly extending portion of the trough casing by a spring metal clip'76, attached at its lower end to the casing by means of a rivet 78 orother suitable fastening means and near the upper end of the clip, it isformed with an offset 80 in which the upper hinging portion of the link72 is freely movable lengthwise of the clip and will also swingfreely-therein. Near the upper end of the clip, it is formed with arounded projection 82 which resiliently engages the side of the troughcasing and holds the hinging link therein, but this extremity may besprung to disengage the adjacent end of the link 72 therefrom or to moreeasily engage the hinging link when the fixture parts are assembled.

In this trough type of hinging structure, the closure is laterallymovable on the upwardly turned edges 66, and the edge of the frame 68opposite the hinges is formed with a downward projection (orprojections) 84 which engage the inside of the upwardly turned edge 66and limit the movement of the closure in the disengaging position.

In order to disengage the closure from the casing, it is necessary toraise the frame 68 so that the projection 84 is free from engagementwith the upper edge 66 and then to move the frame laterally in thedirection of the hinge until the adjacent edge of the frame is free tomove outwardly from its rim 64 whereupon the entire closure may be swungdownwardly about the hinge or hinges 72, the upper hinging portion ofthe links 72 at this time swinging downwardly to the bottoms of theoffset portions and the hinges having a bent intermediate portion ifnecessary to extend around a correspondingly bent intermediate portionof the trough 54.

With these instructions, a closure is readily mounted within a casingfor pivotal and sliding movement to seat the closure firmly within thefixture casing and by a simple raising and lateral movement, to free itfrom engagement with one of the rims so that the closure may be swungfrom the casing about the hinge at the opposite edge thereof. Inreturning the closures, the movements are reversed, the closure framebeing swung upwardly about the hinge until it is within the rims andthen it is moved manually in a direction opposite the hinge until itengages the opposite rim where it is seated against displacement by aprojection as 84 in one form, and is held resiliently against a fixedstop in the other form as shown and described.

While preferred constructions have been described in some detail, theyshould be regarded by way of illustration and example rather than asrestrictions or limitations thereof, as many changes in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of the parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. An electric lighting fixture comprising a lamp enclosing casinghaving an opening at one side and rims extending inwardly at oppositesidesof the opening, a closure for the opening which is slightly widerthan the space between the edges of the opposite inwardly turned rims sothat it will overlap the rims to close the opening, and a hinge linkconnected at one end in the casing at one side of the opening andpivoted at its other end to the closure at the adjacent inner sidethereof, means attached to the casing to loosely engage the one end ofthe link for sliding and turning movement to swing the closure and slideit laterally in the casing to dislodge the closure from the rim at theside of the casing opposite the hinge and to swing the closure out ofthe casing through the opening from the hinged side of the closure.

2. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in which thecasing has an inner projection at the side opposite the hinge link forengaging the closure and limiting its inward movement and seating it insupported position on the rim.

3. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in which thehinge link has means providing a pivoting and sliding connection withthe casing comprising a clip having an offset portion engaging one endof the link for controlling the movement of the closure within andswinging from the frame.

4. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 3, in which thepivoting and sliding connection of-the hinge link comprises a springclip attached to the casing at one end having an adjacent offset portionin which one end of the hinge is pivoted and slidable and an oppositespring end to engage the casing, holding said one end of the hinge inplace and adapted to be sprung outwardly for releasably supportingthe'hinge link from. the casing for bodily removing the link and theclosure.

5. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, including aspring connected to the casing and engageable with the side of theclosure adjacent its connection with the hinge link tending to slide theclosure oppositely therefrom in the casing.

6. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 2, including aspring attached to the casing and engaging the closure at the sideadjacent the hinge link connection therewith, and tending to press theopposite side of the closure slidably against the said projection at theopposite side of the casing.

7. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 3, in which thepivoting and sliding connection comprises a clip attached at one end tothe casing and having an offset portion providing an intermediate-spaceupon which the said one end of the hinge link is freely slidable as wellas rotatable, and means for disengaging the link from the clip at itsother end.

8. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 4, in which theclip is attached at one end to the casing and resiliently engages thecasing at the other end with an intermediate ofiset portion in which oneend of the hinge link is slidable and rotatable, the said other end ofthe hinge being movable yieldingly away from the casing to disengage thehinge link from the clip in bodily removing the closure from the casing.

9. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 5, comprising aspring clip attached to the casing intermediate its ends, one end beingotfset to provide a pivoting and sliding connection for one end of thehinge link, and the other end of the spring clip forming a leaf springthe extremity of which resiliently engages the hinged side of theclosure, tending to press and slide it oppositely in the casing.

10. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in whicheach hinge link is in the form of an open rectangular wire link having afixed pivotal connection at one side with one edge of the closure andmeans forming a pivoted and swinging connection at the opposite sidewith the casing, and the intermediate connecting portions of the linkbeing bent transversely of the link to swing freely within the casing.

11. An electric lighting fixture in accordance with claim 1, in whichthe edges of the rims are turned angularly upward within the casing andthe closure at the side opposite the hinge is formed with a projectionwhich engages the portion of the rim turned angularly within the casingto limit its free movement in a direction toward the opposite side ofthe casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,027,241 Coleman May 21, 1912 2,120,449 Vanderveld June 14, 19382,300,504 Hedges Nov. 3, 1942 2,427,084 Alderman Sept. 9, 1947 2,532,528Zuley Dec. 5, 1950 2,556,690 Guth June 12, 1951 2,572,486 Isaac Oct. 23,1951 2,615,123 Guth Oct. 21, 1952 2,647,985 Billet Aug. 4, 19532,661,119 Spiess et a1 Dec. 1, 1953 2,701,840 Carlson Feb. 8, 1955FOREIGN PATENTS 704,068 Great Britain Feb. 17, 1954

